Introduction: The right of access information has been increasing. Its importance has been emphasized by scholars, by the experts, the media and governments.
Objective: This article aims to analyze the scope of Law 12.527/11 in combating corruption and contribution to the consolidation of democracy in Brazil.
Methodology: As a research technique was adopted a qualitative approach, using literature review and documentary research.
Results: The Law 12.527/11 shows an improvement in the effectiveness of the right to information access. Among the relevant aspects, highlight the stipulation of reasonable deadlines for obtaining information from public agencies, the use of information and communication technologies facilitating access to public information.
Conclusions: It is concluded that to build a true democracy, becomes indispensable the
clear and transparent access to public information, and greater popular participation, thereby strengthening democratic systems.

The study documents, and reviews the
Chilean experience in rural telecommunications, by focusing
on the principles, practical organization, basic design, and
outstanding issues for extension of a more advanced form of
approach to communication, and access to information. It
examines in depth the results, and success factors of the
Telecommunications Development Fund, established in 1994, a
success largely due to the extensive reliance on market
forces to determine, and allocate subsidies, to minimal
regulatory intervention, and relatively simple processing.
The design of the Fund proved robust, and remains the
leading example of a cost-effective solution to reduce
access gaps in basic communication in emerging economies.
However, questions remain on the sustainability of services
for the long run, on how to support the small, but still
excluded rural population, and on potential, further needs
in urban areas.

The broadcast media, radio and
television, have a unique and particular role to play both
in enhancing governance and accountability and in giving
voice to poor and marginalized communities. Broadcast media,
are especially relevant and accessible to remote
communities, cultural and linguistic minorities, the very
poor and illiterate people. Policies, laws, regulations, and
other public actions that govern the broadcast media are
central to play that role, and they form the main focus of
this guide. The guide maps out a public interest approach to
fostering free, independent, and pluralistic broadcast
media. Its objective is to provide guidance on how to design
a policy, legal, and regulatory framework that can
contribute to the achievement of public interest goals such
as transparency of government and accountability to the
people, enhanced quality of and participation in public
debate, and increased opportunities for marginalized groups
to develop and articulate their views. The guide draws from
the experiences of a wide range of countries in all regions
of the world and is illustrated extensively by country-level
examples of policies...

This implementing right to information
lessons from experience has attempted to sketch out the key
areas that are important to address during the
implementation of Right-to-Information (RTI). In particular,
it has highlighted both the imperative of setting up a
number of institutions to build capacity and support for RTI
in the public sector as well as the challenges in sustaining
implementation institutions as political will erodes. It has
highlighted the critical importance of the underlying
political economy and governance environment, an area often
ignored in devising reforms but that is key to whether RTI
ultimately works effectively or has any impact. The number
of countries with RTI laws-laws that establish citizens
`right` to have access to public information or
operationalize such a right found in the constitution has
exploded. Most of the new adopters are countries in Eastern
Europe, Asia, Latin America, and most recently, Africa and
the Middle East-countries. The international momentum
translated into law when domestic dynamics were favorable...

This paper summarizes the results of the
impact evaluation of the Access to Information pilot project
on empowerment of citizens in poor municipalities in the
Dominican Republic. Among the dimensions of empowerment
investigated are civic knowledge, awareness and use of the
right to information, perceptions of and trust in public
services and institutions, civic participation, and measures
of local governance. Data were collected in two rounds: a
baseline round at the end of 2010 and a follow-up round in
mid-2012. No impact is found on awareness and the use of
information under the specific Access to Information rules.
However, it is observed that individuals address more
general complaints to governments as a result of the Access
to Information program regardless of whether these are
classified under the ATI law or not. Some positive and
statistically significant impacts are found on local
government responsiveness, prioritization and decisions
about the municipal budget, and trust in and satisfaction
with some local government services.

In the last 20 years, there has been a
massive growth in the number of national laws giving
individuals the right to access information held by public
bodies (right to information or RTI laws). The number of
countries with such laws has grown from 19 mostly Western
democracies i

This paper looks at the relationship
between the design of a law which aims to give individuals a
right to access information held by public authorities, i.e.
a right to information (RTI) law, and the successful
implementation of that law. The legal framework involves
both laws and subordinate legislation, such as regulations,
which complement the law and are easier to amend, with the
result that there is likely to be a more dynamic
relationship between the design of regulations and
implementation challenges. There is also, of course, the
question of how laws are interpreted by the courts, as well
as other players, such as oversight bodies, which can impact
significantly on implementation of the law. A key issue for
this paper is the fact that there is, at least in many
countries, a law-implementation or policy-practice gap in
the sense that implementation of the RTI law is
significantly sub-optimal.1 No law is perfectly implemented,
but the gap between the standards of the formal rules and
what actually happens is often quite significant for RTI
laws. In some settings where observance of the rule of law
is low...

This paper provides a summary of data
about requests and appeals published by central reporting
bodies in eight countries. It was prepared for the World
Bank as part of a larger study on the implementation of
right to information (RTI) laws. It examines available RTI
data about requests and appeals from the most recent year of
aggregated data—ranging between 2011 and 2013. It does not
evaluate subnational data. It assessed these statistics for
Brazil, India, Jordan, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, The
United Kingdom, and the United States. Through this
assessment it provides trends in how countries are
collecting and publishing these data. Statistics were
retrieved from annual reports and through online portals.
Online portals were used for Brazil, Mexico, and the United
States. The types of data collected include: volume of
requests and rate of responses, types of requesters, type of
information requested, agencies receiving requests, use of
exemptions, appeals and complaints, and sanctions.

This first round of eight case studies
was completed in 2012. The case studies were prepared
examining the experience of a number of countries that have
passed Right to Information (RTI) legislation within the
last 15 years: Albania, India, Mexico, Moldova, Peru,
Romania, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. Each country case
study assesses four dimensions critical to the effective
implementation of RTI legislation as follows: 1. The scope
of the information that the law covers, which determines
whether an RTI law can serve as the instrument of more
transparent and accountable governance as envisaged by its
advocates. For example, a law that leaves too many
categories of information out of its purview, that does not
adequately apply to all agencies impacting public welfare or
using public resources, or that potentially contradicts with
other regulations, like secrecy laws, will not be effective.
2. Issues related to public sector capacity and incentives,
additional key functions and demands within the public
sector created by RTI...

The findings from the study suggest that
international pressure for more effective Right to
Information (RTI) implementation only goes so far. The
development of RTI laws with the encouragement, assistance,
or insistence of the international community was a prominent
theme throughout the case studies, particularly for EU
countries during their accession process. But implementation
is a less straightforward task, with many interlocking,
moving parts, and international support comes in ad hoc
fashion as the process unfolds. A strong implication from
these findings is that a national coordinating strategy may
be valuable for implementation. This kind of strategy
document should take the interdependence of the drivers of
effectiveness into account when drafting policies and rules
for practice, and can serve as a guiding document when
deciding on foreign funding priorities.

The right to access and request
information is enshrined in article 19 of the universal
declaration of human rights. Access to information (ATI)
plays an essential role for promoting accountability and
citizens ability to monitor the actions of the government,
and it contributes to participatory development. The goal of
this report is to provide an overview of the situation of
access to information in the Middle East and North Africa
(MNA) region, in particular the cases of Jordan, Lebanon,
Morocco, and Tunisia. This report looks at previous and
current efforts for promoting ATI in the region in order to
facilitate knowledge exchange among ATI practitioners across
those countries and to help them identify areas for
collaboration in the region. For each country, this report
will first examine the legal and or institutional framework,
including a range of factors such as constitutional
provisions, restrictive legislation, relevant regional and
international conventions, and key administrative bodies.
Government initiatives affecting the right of ATI are then
considered in detail for each country. This report examines
the practice of ATI for each of these four countries...

The right to privacy and the right to
information are both essential human rights in the modern
information society. For the most part, these two rights
complement each other in holding governments accountable to
individuals. But there is a potential conflict between these
rights when there is a demand for access to personal
information held by government bodies. Where the two rights
overlap, states need to develop mechanisms for identifying
core issues to limit conflicts and for balancing the rights.
This paper examines legislative and structural means to
better define and balance the rights to privacy and information.

The purpose of this study on the
enabling environment for social accountability in Mongolia
is: 1) to analyze conditions that influence the ability of
citizens and their organizations to promote accountability
of public institutions in Mongolia; 2) to identify priority
areas for policy, legal, regulatory, and institutional
reforms to improve these conditions; and 3) to identify
areas in which the capacity building of civil society
organizations and the Government of Mongolia may be promoted
to enhance social accountability for improved governance,
social and economic development, and poverty reduction. The
study applies a civic engagement analytical framework to
assess the enabling environment: the factors and conditions
that would allow Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to
promote public accountability. This framework, represented
by the acronym ARVIN, recognizes five enabling elements of
civic engagement, namely, the ability of citizens to:
Associate to further their purposes; mobilize appropriate
Resources; exercise their Voice; gain access to Information
that is relevant...

http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2177-7055.2014v35n69p159The informational Society generated new informational fundamental rights and, therefore, requires new ways of protection. The right to information is one of the new rights given, at least in Brazil, although it expressly enshrine in the Constitution of 1988, only in 2011 promulgated the Law on Access to Information, with the objective of increasing the transparency of public administration. This way for increased government transparency is a trend expanded on the concept of e-government, which will modernize services, provides greater interaction and democratization in the relationship between citizen and government.; http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2177-7055.2014v35n69p159O direito à informação ganhou importância dentro da sociedade informacional, sendo que o Brasil, apesar de expressamente consagrá-lo na Constituição Federal de 1988, apenas em 2011 promulgou sua Lei de Acesso à Informação, com o objetivo de aumentar a transparência da Administração Pública. Esse caminho para a transparência governamental é uma tendência ampliada diante do conceito de governo eletrônico, que, além de modernizar os serviços prestados, proporciona maior interação e democratização na relação entre o cidadão e o Governo.